Christine Sumner, LMFT

Christine Sumner is a licensed marriage and family therapist with over two decades of clinical experience. She practices in California and offers straightforward, respectful care for people facing relationship strain, grief, trauma, self-esteem struggles, and LGBTQ concerns. Christine approaches each person with sensitivity and compassion. She focuses on clear goals and practical steps that feel manageable.

Christine adapts conversations and plans to each person's situation. She uses familiar, evidence-informed methods such as cognitive behavioral techniques to help people spot and change unhelpful thoughts and habits. She also draws on client-centered listening to make space for what matters most to the individual.

In sessions she helps clients name what they want to change, set small achievable steps, and track progress. She works on coping skills for grief, safety planning around trauma symptoms, and communication skills for relationship concerns. Sessions are conversational and goal-focused rather than lecture-style.

Over 24 years Christine has helped many people rebuild confidence and find clearer ways to move forward. She aims to make starting therapy feel less overwhelming and more practical. Her style is steady, compassionate, and oriented toward real-life results.

If someone is unsure where to begin, Christine encourages a short initial conversation to outline goals and decide on a plan. That first step is framed as a collaborative effort to find what will work best for the person's life and needs.

How her approaches translate to online work

Christine commonly uses cognitive behavioral techniques and client-centered listening in online sessions. Cognitive behavioral work focuses on identifying thoughts and behaviors that keep problems going and then trying small, practical changes to see what helps. This approach is useful for anxiety, low mood, and building new coping habits.

She also uses client-centered methods that prioritize empathic listening and the client’s own goals. That means sessions often begin with the therapist asking what the person most wants to address and then shaping the pace and focus to fit those priorities. This approach supports people dealing with relationship concerns, grief, and issues related to identity.

Finding the right approach is part of the process and she treats it as collaborative. Together the therapist and client will decide which methods to try based on symptoms, goals, and personal preference, and they may adjust the plan over time if something isn’t helping.

Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video is useful for full-session conversations and skills practice, phone can be easier when bandwidth is limited, live chat works for shorter check-ins, and messaging lets someone share thoughts between sessions. These options offer flexibility to fit work, family, and daily life while keeping therapy consistent and focused.